June 28, 2005

Horner on finally making the Tour

When Chris Horner burst on the scene in the mid-'90s, he looked certain to join the ranks of US riders competing at the elite levels of the European peloton, along with Lance Armstrong, Kevin Livingston, and Bobby Julich.

Instead, Horner was a bust in three seasons with Francaise des Jeux, then returned to the US, where he won every race in sight (except the USPro championships, which continue to elude him). In 1998, he made the FdJ Tour squad, but had to bow out when he broke a wrist.

This year, it looked like he was snakebitten again, when visa problems and an early-season injury kept him out of action for the Tour de Georgia, which he won in 2003, and the Giro d'Italia. Finally, at the Tour de Suisse, Horner took a stage win, and finished 5th overall, escalating him onto Saunier Duval-Prodir's Tour de France squad.

CyclingNews talked to Horner after he was selected to the Tour.

"I've f*&king got form comin' out of my ears right now!" he shouted at me when I saw him moments after the final [Tour de Suisse] stage in Ulrichen. "Every day, it's just getting better and better."

The interview includes sidebars with Horner's opinions on Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich, who Horner saw close up in the Tour de Suisse.